In Nouns^x, Idioms^x, Grammar^x

The verb "to fault" is the transitive form of the noun, "my fault ." No one could find fault with your sentence = No one could fault your sentence. The noun is countable or uncountable. "Find fault" is an idiom, meaning "to criticize."

Hi CB, I wouldn't know where to start! English grammar is pretty different from Italian grammar. However, there are a lot of similar words (one example: government - governo), and several similar structures and idioms. The problem is that there are also several false friends, and lots of...

Hi Muttley Unfortunately there are a myriad cases involving proper nouns with adjectival attributes and the indefinite article. You'll just have to learn them piecemeal. As you said in your first post, a/an is often used with a person's name: We met a sad George yesterday. The indefinite...

Milky wrote: That is because you, though claiming your thoughts on the matter of English and easiness are subjective, seem to want us all to agree with you. Your posts on the matter, before you began backpedaling, seemed insistent that you were right, on a gemeral level, about English. I would...

Englishuser wrote: A non-native speaker who has immersed himself or herself with highbrow literature written in a foreign language could very well have a more vivid vocabulary and a better knowledge of the grammar of the language than the average native speaker. At least as far as the 'standard...

Grammar Geek wrote: So "to lay by" is a phrasal verb meaning "to store away"? New vocabulary for me! But anyway, when you have a phrasal verb like that (or like "look up" (as a word in a dictionary) or "write down") - do the prepositions act like normal prepositions, or because they are...

I guess you don't get out much, Anon. Here is a sampling of respectable online sources. Doing a bit of Google research yourself will turn up many, many more. The American Heritage Dictionary : Grammarians have sometimes objected to the so-called double genitive construction, as in a friend of...

I agree with paco2004 that the plural fools is needed to agree with supporters . I also agree that the indefinite article a is needed in Don't make a fool of me . ( To make a fool of is an idiom which means to cause someone or oneself to look foolish or stupid. --- dictionary.com ) From...

Hello everybody, If I understand well, I can always use "slowly" instead of "slow." Am I right? An Introduction To English Grammar wrote: Some words can have the same form for both the adjectives and the adverbs: easily, fast, hard, late, slow, quick, long, and words in...